Q&A for the End of the World, Poems by Kim Roberts and Michael Gushue

Q&A for the End of the World is a new series of poems about science fiction movies from the 1950’s and 1960’s, including such classics as “Godzilla” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” Written alternately by the two authors, the book’s twenty poems act as a call-and-response for each movie. The poems address facets of film technique, pop culture, race, gender—as well as fears of nuclear war, dehumanization, and the “other”—with curiosity, skepticism, and affection.

Sample Poems by Kim Roberts and Michael Gushue

“Two poets, one a lifelong sci-fi movie fan, the other new to the genre, engage in a literary conversation — a he-said-she-said about aliens and the apocalypse, teratology and time travel. The results are funny and fabulous, by turns startling and profound. Q&A for the End of the World, Roberts and Gushue take a tag-team approach to the mysteries and delights of bygone B-movies and creature features (and one 28-minute French arthouse thriller). In the process, they harness the warped dream-logic of poetry to discover, in monster movies, some hidden yet familiar truths.” —Michael O'Sullivan, film critic for the Washington Post

“This exploration of classic Sci-Fi films through poetry is as unique as each of the authors — one deeply committed to genre, and one to trying to understand the logic and appeal. The humorous and insightful back-and-forth is fun to digest, and begs the reader to re-watch these films with a new acumen.” —Jon Gann, film producer